


A Midsummer's Afternoon Delight

by Kateli, Sachiro



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bees, Fluff, M/M, garden, liveloveyoibing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 17:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14110182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateli/pseuds/Kateli, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sachiro/pseuds/Sachiro
Summary: The Gardener was very proud of the garden he tended, watering every unique flower and watching as they grew into their beauty. With just a little more, he thought, he may even be able to make something more than just the flowers bloom.





	1. Yuuri's POV

**Author's Note:**

> This is posted for the [Live & Love YOI Big Bang](https://liveloveyoibang.tumblr.com/)'s Bing #1. We chose the Garden prompt!
> 
> Our team had two writers (Kateli, Sachiro) and one artist (Bracari) and we decided to go with a split POV format where both authors wrote one perspective of the same scene each and the artist drew a couple scenes that applied to both so you'll need to read the whole thing to get the full story! We had lots of fun and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did brainstorming and creating!
> 
> Chapter 1 Yuuri's POV is written by Sachiro, chapter 2 Yuri's POV is written by Kateli, and the adorable art found in both is done by Bracari!
> 
> Also fun fact, another suggested title for this fic was "Two Yuris, One Garden" even though the implication of that title has nothing to do with the fic.

Yuuri gasped as he was shocked awake, the sound of crunching earth startling him out of his cool-induced doze. He felt around himself, finding that the material surrounding him gave in every angle, but too groggy to immediately identify it. It took him a moment to remember where he was, surrounded by darkness.

Another crunch of earth — nearby but further than the last — fully shook him out of his stupor. He relaxed again soon enough, confident in the knowledge that no one could find him in his current hiding place.

You see, Yuuri had buried himself in the soft earth of an expansive garden, covering himself in the cool soil on a hot summer’s afternoon. Why, you might ask? The answer came in the next moment in the form of a third crunching sound.

Yuuri popped his head out of the ground, turning around in his hole until he caught sight of what he was looking for. The Gardener of the delightfully chaotic garden was out again today, tending to the shrubbery, lightly sprinkling water while sweat glistened off the pale skin of his forehead. Yuuri wondered for a moment how he could maintain such a complexion being outside in the summer heat day after day but chose not to question it further as he watched the man’s hair swish in the light breeze.

The only word that came to mind was “beautiful” as he almost seemed to defy some law of beauty, if there even was one. The only other creature that Yuuri felt he could attribute the same sentiment to was the Golden Fairy — a being that, even if Yuuri hadn’t already found himself equally as fascinated with him as with the Gardener, would be deserving of the descriptor.

Of course, Yuuri found the Golden Fairy beautiful for other reasons as well. He had delicate golden wings that reflected rays of sunlight, a shimmering golden hat that shone sparkles on the undersides of flower petals, and more grace in his movements than Yuuri ever thought he’d possess in his lifetime (although, that wasn’t hard given the fact that Yuuri was just a Gnome). He wondered what the fairy thought of that image.

It had been a while since Yuuri had caught sight of him, actually.

His head snapped to the left as he heard a shouted “hey!”, causing him to startle and dive back into the dirt. Speak of the devil. The fairy may be beautiful, but he could also be inexplicably hostile, as if he was trying to defy all the assumptions others might jump to at his appearance. At least no one could reach Yuuri when he buried himself, not even the Golden Fairy.

Yuuri immediately had that assumption torn away from him in the form of his red hat being grabbed from the earth. It took him a second to realize what had happened; why would anyone want his hat anyway? It’s not like it was anything special.

He popped his head out of the soil again, only to catch the Golden Fairy wiping clear droplets of water from his dripping hair. Not just taking, why would anyone snatch his hat _and then use it as a towel_?

“Give that back!” He exclaimed, offended at the use of his favourite article. Instead of getting his hat returned to him, however, he received a slight grimace as the Golden Fairy wiped the rest of himself down before throwing it onto the ground.

“Whatever, pig,” the fairy said nonchalantly, his golden wings glittering unfairly in the midday sun, matching his golden hair.

Yuuri picked up the now damp hat from the ground, finding even more earth stuck to it than before. “It’s all wet now,” he commented dejectedly, before the insult caught up with him and he added, “and don’t call me that!”

“Then don’t spend all day rolling around in the mud like one!”

“I do n— why are you picking on me anyway?” Yuuri questioned, realizing that no matter what he said, the fairy was sure to have a response waiting. He figured that he might as well try to get to the heart of it rather than argue back and forth all day, as had been the case with most of their previous interactions.

A grin spread across the fairy’s face and he puffed out his chest just slightly. “What are you gonna do about—?” He started, before he was interrupted by a buzzing sound as a bee flew up behind him.

Yuuri had never seen anyone move so fast in his life as he watched the Golden Fairy dive behind a rock, clearly more afraid of the bee than Yuuri thought he had reason to be. Maybe if Yuuri just showed him they were actually quite tame?

He reached out his hand to the bee and it flew over, letting Yuuri run his rough hand through it’s soft, fuzzy side. See? They were really nothing to be afraid of.

  

Yuuri looked back as the bee flew away again, undoubtedly making its way over to another part of the garden to find a good flower. Unfortunately, the fairy was still hiding behind the rock, his shimmering golden cap poking out from the side of it.

“Are you… afraid of bees?” Yuuri asked the hiding fairy as he finally pulled himself fully out of the ground and made his way around the rock. He found the Golden Fairy cowering behind his hiding place and felt a brief stab of pity — he knew what being scared of things larger than you was like. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, they’re really not that scary—”

The reaction to his attempts at comfort was immediate. “Are you making fun of me now?” The fairy snapped. Yuuri recoiled at the sharp tone, eyes widening.

“No! I just—”

“That’s it!” The shout took Yuuri by surprise, too shocked to move out of the way when the fairy unexpectedly flew at him, deflecting off his hardened skin and falling to the ground in obvious pain.

Yuuri knelt down in a hurry, looking the Golden Fairy over for injuries. “Oh no! Are you okay?” He exclaimed, worried that the fairy had really hurt himself. Did he not know that Yuuri was made of stone? “Why did you do that?”

Yuuri had to strain his ears in the next moment to make sure he caught every word the fairy muttered towards the ground. “To prove that I’m tough even if I’m scared of bees…” Yuuri felt the twitch of a smile on his lips — the Golden Fairy really did have a genuinely cute side after all.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” he prompted, trying to see if the fairy would come further out of his shell, now that Yuuri had come this far with him.

Unfortunately, it seems the fairy wasn’t as ready for that level of vulnerability as he flew back a few inches into the air, yelling his frustrations. “What, do you think I couldn’t take you? How was I supposed to know you’re solid as a rock? I bet I could take you down, so don’t mess with me!”

Yuuri just stared back, unable to figure out the best way to handle the confrontation. He instead found his mind focused on a single worry. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked with concern up towards the hovering fairy. There was no way someone could charge head on at his stone form and come out unscathed.

Yuuri felt his heart leap to his throat as the fairy turned to fly away and suddenly fell out of the air, wings buckling behind him. Yuuri ran over to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder to make sure he wouldn’t try to fly off again. “Let me help you,” Yuuri insisted.

The Golden Fairy looked back around, seemingly ready to throw back another retort but stopped, arrested by something he saw there. Yuuri chuckled, seeing the blush paint itself across the fairy’s cheeks as he turned his face away again. Yuuri wondered if he realized how cute that made him.

“So, uh… what’s your name, anyway?”

Yuuri felt a smile spread across his face at the obvious gesture towards a truce. “I’m Yuuri.”

The reaction from the fairy a moment later was the last that Yuuri expected. “You’ve got to be _kidding_ me!” The fairy wailed, sagging back to the ground overdramatically.

“What’s wrong?” Yuuri questioned, worried but amused in equal amounts.

“ _I’m_ Yuri! How can there be two Yuris in one garden?”

Yuuri found the smile returning, accompanied with a light laugh. Really, what were the chances that they shared a name? He caught the disgruntled expression on Yuri’s face and felt a surge of affection, prompting him to begin checking Yuri over for injuries with light touches.

Yuri might not be anything like his image suggested, but Yuuri found that he was looking forward to learning more of the differences.


	2. Yuri's POV

“BLARGH!”

Yuri scrabbled at the thin branches for purchase, the breath knocked out of him and weighed down from the sudden onslaught. That asshole sprayed him with water! Yuri glared at the Gardener through the leaves of the bush as he attempted to shake the excess moisture from his drooping wings.

The Gardener continued on his way down the line of tastefully overgrown flowers and shrubbery, whistling an innocent tune. 

“Idiot,” Yuri grumbled to himself, even if the human hadn’t noticed him. He never did, no matter how Yuri pushed the boundaries of making his presence known. Humans were just stupid. Yuri had resigned himself a while ago to admiring the Gardener from atop trees and behind flowers. He was exceptionally handsome for a human, which was quite the compliment coming from a fairy, and he kept Yuri’s garden home in beautiful shape, which the fairy was grateful for. 

Once his wings shed the extra weight, Yuri emerged from his bush, hair and clothes still dripping, causing him to dip suddenly in the free air. He heard a gasp to his left and spotted a head peeking out from the ground a few meters away. The Gnome! Yuri’s fists clenched; he hadn’t seen the Gnome around in awhile, and of course he shows up just in time to catch Yuri in an embarrassing predicament.

“Hey!” Yuri shouted, heat flooding his cheeks. But the Gnome ducked back into the dirt, apparently determined to avoid Yuri entirely. That simply would not do.

Yuri dove for the spot where the Gnome had disappeared, plunging his hands into the earth and grasping coarse fabric only a centimeter or so from the surface. He pulled, plucking the Gnome’s hat from the ground. Rolling his eyes,Yuri shook the dirt from the hat (stupid and ugly, compared to Yuri’s shimmering gold cap), and wrung it through his hair, attempting to absorb the last of the water that still clung to his locks.

“Give that back!”

Yuri peered down at the frowning Gnome, whose head had resurfaced. In lieu of response, Yuri continued to use the hat to dry himself, cringing at how the scratchy cloth irritated his skin. It was worth the discomfort, however, to get the Gnome riled up like this.

“Whatever, pig,” Yuri said, tossing it to the ground.

“It’s all wet now,” the Gnome complained. “And don’t call me that!”

“Then don’t spend all day rolling around in the mud like one!” Yuri retorted.

“I do n— why are you picking on me anyway?”

“What are you gonna do about—?” Yuri’s goading trailed off as he registered the buzzing growing louder behind him. _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck._

He zoomed away, hiding behind a rock as the bumblebee hovered in the air where Yuri had been only seconds before. He _hated_ bees. And they were forever following him around, because of the bright color he wore and the petal-like shape and flutter of his wings.

The Gnome, however, seemed unfazed, reaching a hand to pet the insect’s soft, fuzzy body. _So gross,_ Yuri cringed. But a grudging respect bubbled up, too. Had the Gnome domesticated the beast? _That’s badass…_

The bee hummed happily before turning and buzzing away to a distant flower.

“Are you afraid of bees?” the Gnome asked. He pulled himself out of the ground and rounded the rock until he was facing Yuri once again. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, they’re really not that scary—”

“Are you making fun of me now?”

“No!” the Gnome said, his eyes widening in the face of Yuri’s wrath. They were brown, just like the dirt he surrounded himself with, but they were so much brighter, livelier. “I just—”

“That’s it!” Yuri snapped out of his reverie about the Gnome’s stupid eyes, launching himself into the air. He dove at the asshole, only to find himself crumpled on the ground at the Gnome’s feet.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” the Gnome cried, hands hovering over Yuri, fussing but afraid to touch. “Why did you do that?”

“To prove that I’m tough even if I’m scared of bees…” Yuri muttered at the ground, his usual filter having failed him, still reeling from the collision.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” the Gnome prompted, a twist to his lips that had the blood rushing to Yuri’s face in anger and, well, something else.

“What, do you think I couldn’t take you? How was I supposed to know you’re solid as a rock? I bet I could take you down, so don’t mess with me!” Yuri shouted, his wings pulling him a few inches into the air, granting him a height advantage.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” the Gnome asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Yuri felt the heat rise in his cheeks at the attention. His instinct was to hide, so he turned and attempted to fly up to the nearest tree, but his wings sagged dangerously, and he sunk back to the ground in defeat.

“Let me help you,” the Gnome insisted, stepping closer. He placed a gentle hand on Yuri’s shoulder.

Yuri met his eyes and was captured by the concern he saw there, causing his blush to intensify. At a loss for words, he asked the first thing that came to mind: “So, uh… what’s your name, anyway?”

“I’m Yuuri,” said the Gnome with a grin.

“You’ve got to be _kidding_ me!” Yuri screeched, falling backwards onto the ground dramatically.

“What’s wrong?” Yuuri asked, brow furrowed.

“ _I’m_ Yuri! How can there be two Yuris in one garden?”

Yuri watched as Yuuri’s smile spread wide across his face, and all protests quieted. He just stared as Yuuri proceeded to check his injuries with soft, yet firm touches of his fingers, leaving tingles across Yuri’s skin in their wake.

Perhaps Yuri could get used to two Yuris in one garden, after all.

* * *

Viktor watched as the two residents of his garden blushed together instead of staring from a distance as they were prone to do. His plan had worked, and all it had taken was a carefully aimed spray of water.

 _Finally! It may have taken them three years, but I’ve never failed to get anything in my garden to bloom. Some things are just more stubborn than others,_ he thought as he headed out the gate, humming to himself contentedly.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find us over on Tumblr as [Bracari](http://bracari.tumblr.com/), [Kateli](http://ice-tigress.tumblr.com/), and [Sachiro](http://sachiro.tumblr.com/) as well!


End file.
